Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas was one of the main teams of the 2025 season. Between the departure of Renato Paiva and the arrival of Davide Ancelotti, the squad had to adapt quickly to different game ideas in the midst of a year of reformulation, pressure and constant changes in the club. In an interview with Lance!, defender David Ricardo, now at Dynamo Moscow, spoke about how the group faced these changes internally and detailed the backstage of the relationship between players and coaches. According to the defender, changes in technical command directly impact the routine of the squad, mainly due to the need to adapt to new methodologies and game models. — It's always difficult for us players when a coach changes. Another coach comes with a completely different game idea. Sometimes it changes almost everything. Then, we players have to adapt again to a new work. Then, it's always difficult for us, who are already adapted to a work — he said. David Ricardo remembered especially the departure of Renato Paiva, who left the club after the Club World Cup. According to the defender, the news caught the squad by surprise, mainly due to the positive atmosphere created by the coach within the group. — With Paiva's departure, we felt a bit, yes. Because we were very adapted to Paiva's football, adapted to everything he passed, with the game model. Then, logically, it was very difficult — he said. — I confess that no one expected it. I believe that none of the players expected it. And when the news arrived, we players became very sad. We became very sad with the situation, because we liked Paiva a lot. He was a great coach too, who I learned a lot from him — he declared. David Ricardo also praised Renato Paiva's work in the match against PSG, pointed out by him as one of the most marked moments of the season. — What he did against PSG, I learned a lot. Even not playing, I learned a lot by watching. He gave a football lesson, everyone saw. How we played, how we managed to neutralize PSG and get the victory — he said. After Paiva's departure, Botafogo bet on Davide Ancelotti for the rest of the season. According to David Ricardo, the group quickly bought the idea of the Italian coach, which helped the team build a positive sequence. — Davide arrived, and we had to recalculate everything, buy Davide's idea. And I believe that's why it worked so well, especially in the end, that we bought his idea — he commented. The defender also made individual praise for Davide Ancelotti's work and said he lived his best phase under the coach's command. — Man, Davide was a coach who taught me a lot. I learned a lot from him. I became a much better athlete than I was in Davide Ancelotti's hands. I believe that even my best phase was with him — he said. According to the defender, the relationship between the squad and the coaching staff was one of the factors that contributed to the undefeated sequence built in that period. — He was a coach who the group was very united with him during the time he was in front of the club. We